Once upon a time, if you owned a small business, yellow page advertising was the first thing you thought of when you thought marketing. It may have even been the only thing you thought of. If Suzy Shopper was looking for a new dress or a new washing machine to wash it in, the first place she turned was the yellow pages, so it made sense to put your ad where she was looking.
But that s not where Suzy Shopper is looking any more. Now, more than 82 of consumers look to the Internet when they re researching a purchase, and more than half of them open a browser first. The yellow pages have become the book of last resort for many consumers.
The truth is, many consumers don t even have a phone book. With more and more households abandoning land line phones in favor of cell phones, phone books are becoming an endangered species. Does that mean you should stop advertising in the yellow pages?
The short answer is no.
Yellow pages advertising still has its place, particularly when a consumer is looking for a business close to home. The yellow pages are virtually the only advertising medium restricted to a particular geographic location.
But savvy business owners are taking a hard look at their budgets and deciding where they can shave a few dollars. Yellow page advertising, with rates that can reach hundreds of dollars every month, needs to earn its high cost.
Follow these tips to make sure you re getting the best return on your investment:
1. The headline must grab the reader s attention with a well placed benefit. Without that, you re sunk. In a page that s packed with ads all vying for attention, you have less than a second to get the reader to read your ad. If your headline doesn t pull her in fast, you ve lost a sale.
2. Are you wasting money on color? Study after study has shown that black and white ads are no less effective than the full color ads. If you re looking to cut a few bucks out of your marketing budget, cutting the color is a good start.
3. What makes your business better than the competition? Are you the only authorized Pella window dealer in town? Do you have 30 years of experience in your industry? Do you sell only 100 beeswax candles? Then tell the reader. They need to know why they should buy from you instead of the guy on the next page.
4. Don t stop at what makes you unique. Your reader also needs to know why it matters to her. How does your 30 years experience or 100 beeswax candles benefit her? Answer that, and you ll have a new customer.
5. Give potential clients a reason to call. By offering a free whitepaper or special report, or even a free consultation, customers have a no risk reason to pick up the phone or stop by. Just make sure your offer is for something you ll still be able to provide in a year or two.
Author Resource:
Getting the most out of your yellow pages advertising is easy when you combine your display ad with an interactive website. At http://iacasw.com , we help you stretch your small business marketing budget by giving you the best of both for one low price.
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